Hodgson may rest stars vs. Denmark

England boss Roy Hodgson has hinted he may rest the likes of Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Joe Hart for the friendly against Denmark.

Next week's international against the Danes is the final game before Hodgson selects his World Cup squad on May 13.

Wayne Rooney and other stars whose World Cup status is secured may not feature in Roy Hodgson's squad against Denmark.

Defeat would render Hodgson the first England manager in history to lose three successive home games, but the 66-year-old is determined to experiment as he wants to make sure he has a look at those who are on the fringes of his World Cup squad.

"The Denmark game is very much a game where I've got to think about what experimentations I need," the England manager said.

"If we take Steven Gerrard, does he need to play against Denmark to prove to me that he needs to play against Italy (in the first match of the World Cup)?

"Would I be better off playing somebody else because I know what Steven Gerrard can do? He's got 103 caps.

"Could Rooney be in the same category as Gerrard? And Joe Hart too?"

The last time England played in November, Hart's position in the team had come under scrutiny after he was dropped by Manchester City.

The 26-year-old has since won back his place in the City team and could link up with his England team-mates on Sunday evening with a Capital One Cup winner's medal.

"I'm very pleased for him," Hodgson said. "He made a couple of mistakes in games, his coach decided to leave him out, but luckily he's come back and played well.

"It will be nice if we can get a situation where some of the younger ones can win a few trophies too, and I suppose Joe would come into that category.

"As a goalkeeper at 26, he's got a good 10 years ahead of him.

"He's got a league winner's medal, he could get a League Cup winner's medal, and he's still in the FA Cup. He might get a medal there as well, he might even get another league medal, and all that won't do him any harm, that's for sure."

Also Saturday, Hodgson praised Daniel Sturridge, saying he is confident the Liverpool forward will produce at the World Cup and has the potential to reach 100 caps for England.

"He's hardly played for England," Hodgson said of Sturridge. "Since he's gone to Liverpool, he's done very, very well, but quite often when we've had matches we've been unlucky he's not been available through injury.

"In my 25 games, Daniel hasn't featured anywhere near as often as I would like. Now, I'm hoping, in the next 25, he's going to feature a lot."